October is Church Worker Appreciation Month (part 2)

Here are 10 ways to show appreciation for those who serve your church or school community. 

1. Pray regularly for your church worker and family. Tell them you are doing so, ask them for specific prayer requests, and follow up on requests as appropriate. 

2. Write a thank you, send a card or draw a picture to express appreciation for specific ways your church worker impacts the congregation and you personally. There are design templates at LCMS.org. 

3. Take your church worker out for coffee or a meal. Ask about his or her family and life. 

4. Remember the birthdays of your church worker and his/her spouse and children. Recognize them with a small gift on that day. 

5. Offer free babysitting for your church worker’s family and/or give a restaurant gift card for a nice night out. 

6. Take up a collection for Christmas gifts for your church worker and family (consider cash or gift cards). 

7. Provide meals for your church worker’s family once a month, during busy church seasons such as Advent and Lent, or at other times when life is particularly demanding (such as the birth of a new baby, the beginning of the school year, or during an illness). 

8. Host a reception on your church worker’s ordination, installation or service anniversary, recognizing not only the worker but his or her family for their support and sacrifice. 

9. Put together a slideshow or video collage of different members and groups sharing what they love and appreciate about your church worker. 

10. Offer up a vacation property (a member’s timeshare, cottage, beach condo) for a week at no expense to your church worker. 

VIDEO: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - Complete Service

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with communion
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. - Book of Haggai with Pastor Grimenstein
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

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AUDIO: Readings & Sermon for Wednesday, October 29, 2025

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with communion
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. - Book of Haggai with Pastor Grimenstein
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
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Deuteronomy 31:1-18 
So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the LORD has spoken. And the LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is  the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” 

Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. And the LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods. 

Matthew 19:16-30 
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. 

The Lord’s Prayer - The Third Petition 
What is the Third Petition? 
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also. 
How is God’s will done?
God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. 

October is Church Worker Appreciation Month (part 1)

Our Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod takes the entire month of October to kick off a yearlong observance of church worker appreciation, during which we celebrate and recognize the ongoing faithful service of each LCMS congregation’s called worker(s).

Whether you’re a congregation of 40 or 400, and whether your church is 10 years old or a century old, you know and have known the blessing of being fed and cared for by a church worker (or a team of church workers). Their call is to a ministry that subverts the gates of hell itself. Whether it’s writing a sermon, making a midnight hospital visit, teaching a kindergarten class, preparing youth for confirmation, planning Advent chorale music in mid-July, supporting marriages and families, encouraging someone to share his or her faith, or sitting with someone in crisis, our church workers’ service reflects Christ’s love and sacrifice for His people. For that, we owe our greatest thanks and our deepest appreciation.

Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. For our faithful church workers, the greatest forms of encouragement — and the most heartfelt displays of appreciation — come from the very people God has called them to serve. So, with the help and input of congregations across the country, we have compiled a list of church worker appreciation ideas, varying in degree from simple to elaborate. We hope that these ideas will fuel creativity and reflection and spur each congregation to recognize their own called workers in at least one new way. We truly believe that perseverance in ministry comes from a combination of the work of the Spirit and the encouragement of the saints being served.

Bulletin: Wednesday, October 29, 2025

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with communion
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. - Book of Haggai with Pastor Grimenstein
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

Fourteenth Annual "Adopt a Grandparent"

Fourteenth Annual "Adopt a Grandparent" 
During the Holiday season, I enjoy brightening the lives of residents in local assisted living and nursing home facilities in Allegheny County. Many of these people have few, if any, visitors and receive little, if anything, during the Holidays. Last year, through the generosity of local businesses and friends, I helped deliver over 1000 gifts to residents of John J Kane Regional Hospital, Scott Twp and McKeesport, and several other nursing and assisted-living facilities. This year I hope to help deliver 1000 + gifts again. 

By partnering with me, your $15 will provide each of two residents a fragrance-free hand cream and help them have a very Merry Christmas. These items are specifically requested by caregivers for the benefits the residents receive. The lotions will soothe their hands and bring joy, as well, by the simple "touch therapy" of applying them. They will be delivered in early December. 

Please consider what a blessing this is for the men and women in these facilities who once lived and worked in our local communities. Let them know they are remembered! THANK YOU! 

You may contribute with cash, or make your check payable to Ginny GrankeKimberland. 

Ginny Granke-Kimberland , 7082 Clubview Dr., Bridgeville, PA 15017 412-427-9013 

Shout Out to Students

Serenity Migyanko, a fourth grader at Avonworth Elementary, was selected by her principal and school counselor to make a poster for a contest at the Allegheny county courthouse on National Adoption Day. The theme is “what my family means to me.” She came up with this tree idea and all the words on her own and selected the quote. Her poster will be hanging up in the courthouse through the month of November for all to see!